Located in the north-east region of Bangkok in Thailand, Lop Buri, which is known as the "Monkey City," now has another major problem. Pigeons have become a nuisance in the Thai city as the numbers have been increasing four to five times each year.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the government officials earlier this week asked residents to trap the birds and organize a cooking competition. The initiative was taken in hope of curbing the bird menace.
Plaek Thepparak, the highest government official in Mueang district, came up with the aforementioned idea.
He told AFP: "The number of pigeons increases four to five times each year, if we don't do anything the problem will get worse."
He also said that the birds were creating inconvenience everywhere by defecating on government offices, historical sites, temples, and houses.
"Before people can drink rainwater but now they have to buy drinking water because rainwater is dirty from bird droppings," he added.
That's not it. The residents will also be awarded 10 baht ($0.30) per trapped bird. All the trapped birds will be reportedly moved to a quarantine center in a nearby province.
The town also hosted a "pigeon menu" cooking competition along with cash prizes this week. And, among most of the dishes, the most common one was a simply fried pigeon served with a side of Thailand's classic papaya salad.
The most interesting part of the story is that monkeys are the main attraction in Lop Buri province. But now the increasing numbers of pigeons have outnumbered the monkeys also.
"There are about 3,000 monkeys but there are hundreds of thousands of pigeon," Plaek added.
